Doc: Perkins is a target of officials

WALTHAM – Doc Rivers has said all year that his team has a target on its back. Now, he feels, there’s someone else taking aim.

After watching video of the two fouls called on Kendrick Perkins for two moving screens, in which there was little or no contact, Rivers let out a little of his frustration. Rivers was trying to give support to Perkins who was criticized for fouling out of Game 4 when his team didn’t have a big man to spare.

“I’ve got to say this about Perk,” Rivers began, “clearly, every game he’s been targeted for these moving screens. He gets them every game. He gets them called every game. Watching that tape last night, there two where he did move in the direction but there was zero contact on him. Brad Miller, on the other hand, is flying around. He’s laying guys out on screens and didn’t get one of those called. That bothers you.”

But Rivers also said that he would like Perkins to show some diplomacy on the court toward the officials.

“Perk does do it. Perk doesn’t help himself, which I’ve told him 100 times. When you do commit a foul, sometimes say, ‘Good call.’ And I know he’s never committed a foul and I probably whine as much as he does.”

Perkins wasn’t arguing that point.

“Doc might need to say it, too. Doc might need to tell the ref, ‘Nice call’ too. I think as a team, as a whole, not just me but as a whole, I don’t think think we’re the favorites with the refs. I don’t think the refs like the Boston Celtics,” Perkins said.

Asked why that might be Perkins, replied, “I don’t know. We have a lot of talkers on this team.”

What is not a joking matter is the fact that the Celtics find themselves in a series where they have lost two games in overtime and have broken down on defense far too often at critical moments.

Last year, the Celtics were 2-2 with the Hawks heading back to Boston for Game 5 of the first round. This year, if you ask Rivers or Perkins, it just feels different, especially without Kevin Garnett as an emotional on-court leader.

“It’s a different team we have, missing a lot of key guys,” Perkins said. “But I just feel like we’re making it hard on ourselves. You can’t go out in one game, Game 3 and beat a team by 30 then come back and lose by three. The sense of urgency wasn’t there in Game 4.”